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NIMASA to clean up marine litters

Ag. DG of NIMASA, Mr Haruna Baba Jauro

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and
Safety Agency (NIMASA) has restated its commitment to ensuring a safe marine
environment by tackling the menace of marine litters in the nation’s
territorial waters.

A statement in Lagos by the Head of Public Relations, NIMASA, Hajia Lami Tumaka, said the commitment was made known by the
Acting Director General of the Agency, Mr Haruna Baba Jauro during the
Stakeholders Forum on Marine Litter Management organised in Lagos recently by
the United Nations Environmental Programme Global Partnership Action (UNEP-GPA)
and NIMASA.

Jauro who was represented by the Agency’s
Director of Maritime Labour Services, Mrs Juliana Gunwa said that marine
litters were a menace which must be tackled with all seriousness.

He said that was why NIMASA partnered with
the UNEP-GPA, a body of the United Nations to tackle the scourge.

The acting director general said that the
management of the marine environment remained a critical component of ensuring
safe and secure shipping and that NIMASA would continue to implement relevant
IMO instruments in line with the Agency’s mandate.

Also speaking at the event, the President
of the Waste Management Society of Nigeria (WAMASON) Prof. Olaide Osinbajo said
he had observed that the major source of marine litters was the land based
source, although shipping also contributed its own quota.

He however commended the Management of
NIMASA for tackling the menace head-on and advised that the agency sought to
collaborate with other Federal and State Government Agencies in order to
effectively deal with the scourge.

It would be recalled that NIMASA recently
signed an agreement with UNEP-GPA under the co-ordination of Dr Felicia Mogo,
an Assistant Director in the Agency with the aim of developing a mechanism for
the implementation of the National Action Plan on management of marine litters
for Nigeria.